This amazing dad and daughter team turned a derelict house and stables into luxury holiday lets on their Yorkshire farm

The four-year journey from conception to completion involved hundreds of hours of overtime devoted to turning a derelict farmhouse and an old stable block into a spin-off business that has boosted the viability of the family farm. The abandoned farmhouse was unstable because the foundations had been damaged by a Second World War bomb so the idea was to take the building down and replace it with a new, six-bedroom property before converting the stables into two, two-bedroom holiday lets.

“I did a lot of research and found that large holiday properties catering for groups of family and friends are quite hard to find. The new house and the cottages can sleep 16 if you book them altogether,” says Sarah, 25, a graduate in agri-business from Harper Adams University, who also spotted the potential for attracting guests attending weddings in nearby Beverley.

The scheme was made possible due to an EU rural development grant, which the Deans managed to obtain just before Brexit and funded 40 per cent of the costs. Newcomers who visit Brandesburton are generally astounded to find that it is one of the best-served villages in East Yorkshire. It has the added benefit of being close to Beverley and the coastal resorts of Fraisthorpe, Hornsea and Bridlington.

Knowing they had a good location was an excellent start for the Deans, as was knowing a fantastic local builder who agreed to construct the six-bedroom Pasture House and convert the adjacent stables. Before that, the old farmhouse was carefully deconstructed so that some of the materials could be salvaged and reused. “The builders were fantastic and me and my dad did a lot of work to try and reduce labour costs,” says Sarah.

While some of the construction took place during the pandemic, the Deans had bought the materials needed beforehand, which meant they escaped the Covid-induced inflation of everything from bricks to plaster and wood. They also reused bricks salvaged from the old farmhouse to create a patio and a chimney breast and were fortunate to know an excellent local craftsman joiner, Richard Wright, who made the staircases, doors, kitchens, beds and vanity units for the properties.

James project managed the Pasture House build and Sarah project managed the stable conversion, which all went well thanks to the superb craftsmen involved. He also used his digger to do the landscaping and installed the fencing and she was responsible for the interior fit-out and furnishing of all the lets.

Sarah painted the whole of Pasture House herself and says: “There weren’t many days when I didn’t have a paint brush in my hand.” Though high-end interior design was out of her comfort zone, she went to Instagram for inspiration and sourced everything from furniture, accessories and appliances to curtains, cutlery and the rest for all the living spaces and a total of eight bedrooms and ensuites, one of which is on the ground floor for guests with mobility issues.

It would’ve been a challenge at any time but lockdown meant she was forced to rely on internet shopping for some items, including the Chesterfield sofas, plus she wanted all the bedrooms to have a different Farrow & Ball colour scheme, which added to the workload. Investing in quality products that would last was important so the properties have Neff ovens and Liebherr fridges. Some of the furniture and accessories are from Woodmansey store Alexander Ellis and the headboards are from FandS Designs on Etsy while Janice Walker Interiors of Driffield made the curtains and blinds.

Sarah also sourced furniture and paintings from the David Duggleby and Duggleby Stephenson auction houses. To add even more character, James and the electrician made a light from an old seed drill wheel for the dining room in Pasture House.

For the grounds, Sarah bought tables and seating for 16 people, loungers, bike racks, a barbecue, a wood-fired pizza oven and two huge hot tubs. The result of this dad and daughter endeavour is outstanding, especially given that they were furiously multi-tasking throughout to keep the farm going.

“Four years sounds like a long time for a project like this but that’s because we budgeted to do some of the work ourselves to make it more cost-effective,” says Sarah.

Bookings are now rolling in and the Deans’ hard work has been rewarded with a glowing report and five-star award from Visit England for the accommodation, hospitality and friendliness.

Along with producing cereal crops and free-range eggs plus its own power via wind turbines and a ground source heat pump, the farm is now generating joy via its holiday lets… and not just for guests.

“One of the best things for me and my dad is seeing people enjoy what we have done with the farmhouse and stables and it’s brought even more variety to my job,” says Sarah. "I can be doing the books one day, sorting the chickens out the next or meeting guests. That’s what I love about farm work. Every day is different.”

pasturehouseholidaycottages.co.uk